Universal phone charger on the horizon

[borked]

The simplest of things can make a big difference

A deal's been done between industry bosses and the European Commission in Brussels to work towards a 'one size fits all' charger.
...
it means a universal charger, which will use a micro-USB connection, should be available by next year.

Under the accord, the companies, including Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Apple, Motorola, Research in Motion and Samsung, are committed to developing the charger.

It will work for data-enabled mobile phones that support USB data exchange.
The 10 companies involved represent 90% of the European mobile market so the vast majority of the estimated 350 - 400 million users across the EU would be covered by any changes.

EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen says he also wants to see the common charger expand in the years ahead to cover other phones, existing phones, cameras and laptops.

Stupidly simple, but it just required getting the big guns to agree

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/h...00/8124293.stm

[sandman!]

my phone allready uses micro usb

[Rochard]

That's what my current phone uses, so cool.

Recently I bought a new Dell laptop, and a few weeks later my old laptop crapped out. Turns out the older charger works with the new laptop so I have two chargers, one upstairs and one downstairs.

I don't understand why they don't all do this!

[LiveDose]

Mine uses it as well but it's about time as an industry. They've been nickle and diming us for too long with all the different charger types...

[Raf1]

that's a very cool move IMO.

[Jeppe]

Surprised Apple agreed to that.

[fusionx]

I've got three different USB cables I carry around with me all the time. One standard USB, one mini-USB, and some weird curved USB gimmick for my Blackberry Javelin.

So much for "Universal"

[dready]

Nokia is already working on the next step... a phone that powers itself:

"A new prototype charging system from the company is able to power itself on nothing more than ambient radiowaves – the weak TV, radio and mobile phone signals that permanently surround us. The power harvested is small but it is almost enough to power a mobile in standby mode indefinitely without ever needing to plug it into the mains."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...a-mobile-phone

[MaDalton]

and they say the European Union is worthless...

[borked]

I've got three different USB cables I carry around with me all the time. One standard USB, one mini-USB, and some weird curved USB gimmick for my Blackberry Javelin.

So much for "Universal"

sorry, but for exactly the reason of the universal charger, that made me
I aint alone and it's frustrating as hell!

Nokia is already working on the next step... a phone that powers itself:

"A new prototype charging system from the company is able to power itself on nothing more than ambient radiowaves ? the weak TV, radio and mobile phone signals that permanently surround us. The power harvested is small but it is almost enough to power a mobile in standby mode indefinitely without ever needing to plug it into the mains."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...a-mobile-phone

you know I've already questioned this, not to how it can charge but how it can develop
energy in "standby/waiting" time - watches have 'self charged" by perpetual motion for decades, and wind up radios show high-enrgy gizmos can develop self-renewable enrgy, and so a phone in a pocket doing kilometer of walking per day, why not?

All bullshit stuff, but hey, 26 years ago, I have a physics project quite clearly stating in my own handwriting how cars could self-regulate speed and distance through calculating the distance of the car in front by radio waves, and well....maybe wind-up phones will make the market once bluetooth and wifi power consumption gets under control.